Smarty Sticks and Pincer Grasp Exercises

       Building fine motor skills and strengthening hand muscles are exercises that are very beneficial for my girls.  Pincer grasp (pinching) and squeezing objects can be a tough struggle for them.  My girls are also struggling to talk, so when I ask them to find 6 on the number stick they can non verbally identify it while exercising their fine motor skills.  Yea!!
      My kiddos are getting very good at identifying colors and numbers so I want to keep reinforcing that as well.  So I came up with Smarty Sticks. What I love about this idea is it is hands-on learning.  Another perk is that you can customize and modify this activity in any way you want.   As you can see in the pics below I have incorporated matching on the Identifying Color.  If your child is struggling with addition, ask them what 2+2 is and they would answer by putting the pin on 4.  The sky is the limit with this idea.  Think about the concepts your child is struggling with and be creative with it. 

Model the pinching motion and finger placement for your child.

Materials I used...
1.  Strips of wood (may also use cardboard).  1/8 inch thick by 16 inches long.
      Note: You may customize the size of the wood as you like just remember that thicker strips require more strength to open the clothes pin wider.
2.  Clothes Pins (regular and/or small sizes)
      Note:  I found smaller clothes pins at Walmart and Joann's. They are easier to open than the regular sized and are great for beginners who can't quite get the bigger ones open
3.  Paint, Crayons and/or Markers (Sharpie worked great)
4. Ribbon or string to hang (optional)